


Inanimate

by realfakedoors



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, Domestic Fluff, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Gen, Post-Steven Universe: The Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 23:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20804423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/pseuds/realfakedoors
Summary: Lapis wants to take a personal leap, and can only trust one person to help see her through it.An alternative future to Marooned Together, had things not gone so terribly awry all those years ago.





	Inanimate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [E350tb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/E350tb/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Marooned Together](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14591640) by [E350tb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/E350tb/pseuds/E350tb). 

Settling back into the couch with a grumble of annoyance, Stevonnie blew a tuft of hair that had fallen in front of their eyes with a loud huff. 

The fusions grousing remained unheard, as the Beach House was empty. Stevonnie was to be the only occupant for the entire week—and of _course _this all happened on the very first day of what was supposed to be some well-deserved alone time with their girlfriend. The Crystal Gems—the ones who lived at the Temple, anyway—had been planning for months now to take some time away from Earth. As part of the Civil Gem Sustainability Accord that Stevonnie had helped to authorize, Yellow and Blue were planning to restart their colonization across the universe with some _severe _contingencies: any colonization must be done on a planet with no organic life; any tampering of inorganic materials must be done without detrimentally altering the planet; any established kindergartens must be replenished with sufficient mineral deposits each time a new vein of gem emerges, etc.

It was a whole new era for gemkind, and the Diamonds themselves were so invested in championing Steven’s Era 3 message that _they _had been the ones to ask a few advising Crystal Gems to oversee the initial acquisition and processing of the two new planets they had selected for colonization. Pearl and Peridot headed each team respectively, the former working for Blue’s new colony and latter for Yellow’s, and between them, Garnet, Bismuth, Jasper, Amethyst, Fluorite, and the Rutile Twins were all divvied up. 

Stevonnie had opted out of the space mission for two reasons.

One, Connie’s parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary that week, and they promised to be there for the Maheshwarans. It was crazy how quickly time flew by, Stevonnie mused, holding up their left hand and examining their fourth finger, wiggling it under the light. Around it, a single band of coalesced metals sat, equal parts platinum and rose gold; Connie and Steven’s wedding bands, respectively, had combined when they fused for the last time.

And two, more selfishly, Lapis did not want to go on the expedition, period. She was a homebody by nature, so while she was usually willing to pluck up a smile and put up with whatever space faring thing they had to do, there had already been _plenty _of volunteers for the cause. Two teams of four just to monitor the starting phases of colonizing two planets was already more than enough, and when Lapis elected to stay behind, Stevonnie jumped on the opportunity for a bit of a stay-cation with their beloved.

Lapis being poofed had not been a part of that plan.

_I mean, it had been a part of A plan, just not THIS plan._

The decision had been agreed upon months ago—every contingency planned for, every risk discussed, every question, large or small, answered—but when the day finally came to make it a reality, Stevonnie had never been so nervous.

Their worrying didn’t make much sense. Considering all the preparation they had done, there was literally no room for doubt, but overthinking everything was as much a part of them as Steven or Connie. And so, they found themselves sitting, waiting, anxiously rubbing their thumb over the gentle curvature of a gemstone, blue and deep as the breadth of any ocean, tracing the delicate teardrop shape while they re-lived conversations of months past.

_I want to do this._

The memory of her voice was crystalline in Stevonnie’s mind, syllables easy as a summer breeze, cadence steady like an evening sunset. Lapis just had a way of conveying things that made any of their underlying concerns simmer down to embers—even when _she_ was the one upset by something, just hearing her voice put Stevonnie at ease.

But this was different, for a lot of reasons.

First of all, like this, Lapis’s voice couldn’t reach them like this, couldn’t help to coach them through things.

_It’ll be fine. _

“You don’t _know _that,” they complained at the memory of her voice, unloading their woes instead onto her motionless gemstone.

_I want to do this for me, too. And there’s no one I’d trust more than you for this. It would really mean a lot to me, ‘Vonnie..._

“Unfair… too cute when you ask all sweet like that...”

Lion and Cat Steven were cuddled up on the far side of the room, near the fridge, snoozing. Even _they _had _each other_.

“I mean, I have me.” Stevonnie said, staring at the ceiling. “And we’re good. I’m _great_.” 

Glancing down, they examined the plushie seated in their lap. It was, appropriately, a doll that was modeled in Lapis’s likeness, something Stevonnie had won for themselves jokingly at a Funland Arcade. (After the events of Spinel touching down on Earth and all, the Crystal Gem’s already extreme notoriety launched into the stratosphere, and all sorts of thematic merchandise had followed.) On rare evenings when they weren’t able to sleep in Stevonnie’s room together for one reason or another—Lapis’s intrusive thoughts preventing her from sleeping, or some sort of incident on Little Homeworld, or, really, who knows that—the fusion was quick to cuddle up to the small version of their girlfriend in her place.

At present, down the center of the back of Little Lappy, a zipper was housed that allowed easy access to the inside lining. It was unzipped, and in it, the real Lapis Lazuli gemstone was nested amongst the inner materials, and Stevonnie kept the pads of their fingers resting on the cool surface anxiously.

_She reforms pretty quickly… not, like, Amethyst, but… probably as fast as Ruby or Sapphire. Soon._

And perhaps the universe had been listening, because not five seconds later did a little thrum of energy sparkle up up their fingertips. Blue floodlights hit their eyes, widened in surprise, and they scrambled to zip up the back of the doll before Lapis could finish reforming.

“Oh god, oh god, okay, don’t freak out—this is gonna be fine—what could possibly go wrong? Just a plushie. Just two days! We talked about all of this. Just—just my girlfriend with severe trauma about being trapped... reforming around an inanimate object? I’M SURE IT’LL BE JUST _FINE—”_

They were on their feet without thinking, watching the well-loved object and very-much-so loved gemstone rise into the air, bathing the living room in a momentary, dazzling glow. Lion and Cat Steven both perked up and moved away, a little restless as they picked up on Stevonnie’s _definitely-not-panic_. 

And then, as unceremoniously as bird song at dawn, the bright light stopped and the little plushie fell to the couch with a muted _pa-oumph._

“Lapis!” Stevonnie lunged forward, turning to the doll to face them. It appeared just the same as it always did, though it felt heavier with the weight of the gemstone inside. The little black plastic rounds of her eyes, Stevonnie would have sworn, had just a tiny bit more shine to them than normal, too. “Lapis, is that you? Are you okay? Do you want out? You’ll tell me if something’s wrong, right?”

Silence.

“_Lapissssss_,” the held the doll pinioned to their chest, the embrace calming them just a little. “I know this was my idea originally, but I’m so worried. Please be okay. If you’re not okay I need you to, I don’t know, doll-manipulate water and smack me with it or—or something!”

_Silence._

The fusion sighed, collapsing themselves around the little figure of their girlfriend as much as possible, hoping beyond hope that it had the effect of making her feel safe, and not claustrophobic.

Reclaiming fusion, and reclaiming reformation in general, were both obstacles Lapis wanted to tackle. Stevonnie wouldn’t withhold that opportunity from the gentle blue gem just because of their own worries, but this felt like it was going to be so much harder than they originally thought. It felt like as much as an exercise for them—being so responsible for someone, so entirely… being trusted _so much_… it was daunting.

But, god, if they didn’t love Lapis. They would do anything for her.

Warily, they drew back, holding her out at arms length. “I guess I won’t know how you feel until it’s over. Please, please, trust me when I say I’ll do everything in the next two days with as much care as I can. If you can’t communicate with me, I’ll… I’ll just try my best. I love you.”

Stevonnie placed a tentative kiss on the top of Lapis’s head, drawing back with an unsure smile.

For the sake of not wanting to bore themselves and Lapis to death, Stevonnie decided to make it a day filled with fun-but-safe activities. They strapped on one of Pearl’s favorite fanny packs and tucked Lapis into the front of it, carefully positioning her so that she was outward facing and could hopefully enjoy the day as much as they were.

* * *

The longer they spent together while was Lapis in her inanimate form, the more confident Stevonnie grew.

They started by walking alongside the ocean, something they knew to be calming to their girlfriend, but instead of holding hands Stevonnie just crossed their arms over their chest and held Lapis against them, like a schoolgirl might hold her books. The fusion babbled on about everything they could think of that Lapis wouldn’t already know about, and some things she might have, hoping the conversation was interesting enough to keep her engaged: what it was like to spend time on Homeworld since becoming a permanent fusion—explaining _that _one to White had been a time and a half; updating her on where Blue Pearl, Yellow Pearl, and Pink Pearl spend their days off, now that they Diamonds had worked out a shift regiment for their Pearls. Now, White, Yellow, and Blue had three separate Pearls each—the Pearls all liked to be helpful and didn’t want to give up their place beside their Diamonds entirely, but the newfound sense of freedom was something they liked to indulge in, too. After lots of conversations with Greg about how human workdays were broken up, Homeworld adopted something with a similar spirit. Now, the Pearls could keep their sense of self-efficacy and could help their Diamonds carry out their tasks, but each Pearl was given plenty of time off and worked in shifts with other Pearls.

Probably the most interesting project was helping Gem society to develop open-ended ideas towards allowing different gem _types _access to alternative lifestyles (in other words, freeing Homeworld from the idea that gems were made “for X reason” and _only _for “X reason,” and that any gem could be anything). This wasn’t at all news to Lapis, as it had been an on-going project for decades now, but there was always a new funny story about a Zircon learning how to fight with a sword or a Sapphire training with the Jaspers and Amethysts. Lots of gems preferred to stick with what they knew, what they were good at—but _all _gems had the freedom to do something else, too, if they wanted. 

Eventually, the fusion took Lapis to the arcade, played some of their favorite games and had a good chat with Mr. Smiley’s son who had taken on the business. The best part was explaining why they had a Lapis doll with them—and explaining that it wasn’t really a doll at all, but Lapis. He had the brilliant idea of picking some prizes out from the backroom that would have had accessories suiting Lapis’s size, and put Stevonnie to the task of winning tickets—one article of clothing for every hundred tickets.

After two hours, they left Funland with Lapis looking like a fashion icon that would have put any celebrity to shame. They had gone so over-the-top—some of Connie’s competitiveness had come out, evidently—that the poor younger Smiley had completely run out of tickets in the skeeball machines.

“Sorry, again!” Stevonnie waved and grinned as they exited the storefront, taking in a big breath of seaside air. Their little coastal town was a marvel of which they were certain to never tire, and with a reinvigorated flutter in their chest, the fusion started back off towards the Beach House. The sun was setting already, and they had some leftover pizza in the fridge that had their name written all over it.

* * *

* * *

Lapis felt suppressed, but in the strangest, _right-est _kind of way. Like someone had taken fog from a humid morning and pressed the veil of water vapor up against all of her senses, there was a familiarity in the detachment, but newness in the way it all chaffed against her nerves. Everything felt _softer_, and it vaguely reminded her of the time Stevonnie had snatched Connie’s father’s glasses and forced her to wear them. The world was the same, but it felt a little wrong, a little blurred, a little out of her grasp. 

It had taken some getting used to, especially in the first hour or so, but Stevonnie had been nothing but gentle and delicate, and it helped her to get a better grip of herself. Hearing them was difficult, but she could manage if she focused—but, honestly, it was difficult to even feel bothered to do anything of the sort. The sound of Stevonnie’s voice was such a saccharine comfort, the smooth intonation and firm ring of syllables combining to make something not unlike a lullaby that soothed Lapis’s compounded senses. How could she even explain the feelings? It was so much like being in the mirror, but so different, too.

She didn’t feel alone for even a single second, and even when the occasional dark thought began to crawl up her throat and clench around her heart, it ebbed away by the gentle entirety of Stevonnie’s presence. They were the pulse that gave the world rhythm, the song that gave the existent meaning, the laugh that gave the stars their shine; Lapis could have even forgotten the universe, content as she was to stay small and safe and _their’s_.

The time caught up to them sometime after the thick scent of garlic and tomatoes flittered away from Lapis’s conscious mind. She realized all of the fragility that had so greatly pushed up against her from all sides intensified, like the softness of a blanket was swaddled with something much more tender, like love.

Music filled her ears, a song she knew from memories that felt somehow far off to her at the moment, but it made her quake internally with emotion. Something… something was different about this now. Pushing herself to focus, Lapis recognized the sight of Stevonnie’s stomach, exposed, but shadowed and difficult to see. The space was dark, cramped—_like Pearl’s gem, but… but no, no. _No. That’s Stevonnie’s voice they could hear, humming a wordless melody.

Were they in Stevonnie’s bed? Oh. Had the whole day already passed? Were they going to bed? Lapis wasn’t sure if she would be able to sleep in this form, but it seemed plausible with how _comfortable _everything felt this way.

What _was _that song… it played the chords of her heartstrings, plucked the harmony from her cotton skin, drew the heart of her gem to the surface.

_Maybe… Maybe I’ll find myself, smiling on that distant shore. Maybe… I’m not alone._

An invisible smile pulled at her already stitched-steady lips, the realization reaching her just as the fusion’s humming turned to silent, slow breathing.

The awareness Lapis had managed to maintain faded off just moments later, and her consciousness along with it. Stretching wide across the empty space of her mind and the tiny body in which she now resided, like a newly risen moon just beginning its journey across the sky, the blue gem’s heart felt the presence of her love to be both soft and fleeting. It wasn’t a thing that needed to be _present _at all. Stevonnie filled their world so wholly with security, the cradle of their fingers holding her tight to them while they succumbed to sleep, Lapis only mourned not being in her usual form so she could pepper their cute face with kisses. It was a hushed sort of night silence, one in which love swelled in the shadows, and Lapis had never felt so completely at ease even in her own skin.

Moonlight-kissed dreams eventually overcame her, lulling her to sleep beside her beloved, and Lapis very much felt like she would do all of this over again sometime. They had the two days agreed upon, if only to ease Stevonnie’s mind, but Lapis suddenly didn’t mind the idea of staying in that form for a very, very long time.


End file.
